Etymology : Early 14th century, “inferior officer in the church,” from Old French acolite or directly from Medieval Latin acolytus (Late Latin acoluthus), from Greek akolouthos “following, attending on,” as a noun, “a follower, attendant,” literally “having one way,” from a- “together with,” copulative prefix + keleuthose “a way, road, path, track,” from PIE *qeleu- (source also of Lithuanian kelias “way”). The word was in late Old English as acolitus, a Latin form; in early modern English a corrected form acolythe was used.

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